W VIRGINIA: Another team that finds itself trying to steal the thunder in the Big 12 is the Mountaineers. Geno Smith returns as the quarterback after throwing for 4,385 yards, 31 TD and just 7 INT last season. He capped his season by picking apart Clemson in the Orange Bowl for 407 yards, 6 TD and 0 INT. Smith is getting his two favorite targets back in Stedman Bailey (1,279 rec yds, 12 TD) and Tavon Austin (1,186 rec yds, 8 TD), so this WVU offense is going to remain one of the best in the nation. The problem comes on the defensive side of the ball, where the Mountaineers allowed 31.3 PPG in their final seven games. The Big 12 offenses are much more potent than the Big East and WVU's best D-lineman in 2011, Bruce Irvin, was a first round pick in the NFL draft.

IOWA ST: Iowa State showed flashes last year, upsetting 10-0 Oklahoma State in November, but the Cyclones lacked consistency, losing seven of their final 10 games. Although QB Jared Barnett threw for 376 yards and 3 TD against OSU, he struggled down the stretch and opened up a QB controversy with Steele Jantz that will continue in 2012. The Cyclones are losing two of their better WRs and quality players on their offensive line, but top RB James White (743 rush yds, 8 TD) comes back. On the other side of the ball, the defensive line said goodbye to three starters on a team that generated just 1.3 sacks per game (106th in FBS). The Cyclones do get back LB A.J Klein, who recorded a team-high 116 total tackles last season. It will take a lot of maturing for Iowa State to get back to a bowl game this year, but if there's one thing that can be said about the Cyclones, it's that you can never completely count them out.